THE South African Football Association in Chris Hani District held their first Eastern Cape Futsal trials on Friday at the Tobi Kula Indoor Sports Centre, as the association across the country began the preparations for the SAFA U17 Futsal National Finals in Bloemfontein.
Futsal is a variation of football, which is played indoors with a five-a-side team, with unlimited substitutions and a smaller, harder ball that doesn’t bounce as high as a normal soccer ball.
This round of Eastern Cape trials on Friday attracted a great turnout with players ranging from 12- to 16-year-olds.
At the trials, players were first categorised and then shortlisted with a select group of players and the head scout, who is also the head coach of the team, Thanduxolo Ntoni, was happy with the turnout and the talent that was displayed at the trials.
“We are very happy with the players that came for the trials, even though this game is a bit different to the soccer that everyone knows.
We had to sit down with them and share some insight on this game, as it has its own rules, but they understood everything because they want to be in this team,” said Ntoni.
One of the main goals of the trials was to begin the preparations for the continental showpiece, which will be held in Morocco in October this year.
After the series of friendlies, a list of 14 players was announced by the coach, inlcuding seven players from the Chris Hani District.
The team is currently taking part in the National Futsal Championships that started in Bloemfontein on Tuesday. They are in Group A with KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
Eastern Cape Provincial Futsal team 2020
Refilwe Chabeli (goalkeeper/ Joe Gqabi), Hlumelo Peter (goalkeeper/ Chris Hani), Luvo Lufelo (Joe Gqabi), Molemo Leeuw (Joe Gqabi), Lior Mehlo (Joe Gqabi), Kekeletso Mateise (Joe Gqabi), Benny Nywerya (Joe Gqabi), Lukhanyo Jikumlambo (Chris Hani), Likhona Xhoseni (Chris Hani), Eljermaine Jackson (Chris Hani), Bhuko Stuurman (Chris Hani), Somila Nkasane (Chris Hani), Manyatnela Simumkele (Chris Hani) and Juneal Smith (Chris Hani)
Coach: Thanduxolo Ntoni
Manager: Richard Klaas
